Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson likes his quarterback situation. He feels good about the depth at wide receiver, offensive line and A-back. The linebackers and safeties look solid. The Yellow Jackets have a gifted kicker.
Johnson, at a media-day news conference, didn’t quite scoff at a media poll projecting Tech to finish fifth in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Well, perhaps he scoffed.
While his memory was a little loose, he cited a statistic that Tech’s average preseason projection in his six seasons has been 3.2, and its average finish has been 1.7.
“So they haven’t got it right yet, so what makes ’em so smart this time?” Johnson said.
Johnson acknowledged his team’s weaker spots — primarily the need to replace experienced players on the offensive and defensive lines — but was not crying for mercy.
“Are we going to be the most talented team that we’ve had here, individually?” Johnson asked. “Probably not, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be the best team. You just have to see.”
In considering the areas needing reinforcement, he did not pass up the opportunity to take a dig at critics.
“There’s six guys in NFL camps (from last year’s team), which is amazing, too, since we could never recruit anyone,” he said.
Proving doubters wrong is something of a passion for Johnson, and his team seems to share the trait.
“Some coaches will tell you, ‘Do you like being picked in the back every year?’ and things like that,” B-back Zach Laskey said. “’Are you guys going to do something about it?’”
Laskey added that guards Trey Braun and Shaquille Mason have taken up the line of motivation. The two, he said, “are always saying that, ‘This (projection) is some B.S. We’ve got to go out and prove people wrong.’”
Even athletic director Mike Bobinski pounded the drum for the Jackets, testifying to the quality of the team’s offseason effort. He offered a qualifier, noting that, “Nobody says, ‘We had a (expletive) summer.’”
Still, he said, players “invested a lot” in summer workouts and “there’s a great vibe in the locker room. And, again, that’s easy to do when you’re not playing, when you haven’t had those tough moments. I understand that and get that. But if you don’t start there, if you don’t start in a good place, it’s really tough to get there as the season rolls on.”
Johnson made a similar observation, that players have demonstrated a good attitude and were working hard thus far through three preseason practices.
“We’re excited about the guys,” he said. “I think the guys who are out there are excited to be there.”
There are fewer guys out there than might have been expected. Just before the start of preseason camp, Johnson dismissed three players for repeated violations of the athletic association’s student-athlete code of conduct. They were three of 12 players with eligibility remaining who did not return for a variety of reasons.
Defensive tackle Adam Gotsis, whose position group took a particular hit, said it was tough to see teammates leave with whom he had forged a bond, but took a broader perspective.
“It’s bitter to see them going, but for the program’s best interests, we want to bring a culture to this team where we hold each other accountable,” he said.
“For us to get to that next level, we’ve got to cut out all that off-field drama and whatever it might be. We’ve got to have one goal in mind, and that’s win games.”
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